Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Real Reality]

No matter how hard they try, government officials can't make all the people happy all of the time. And that goes especially it seems for Seoul's foreign residents.

Top ministry aides from the central government endured three hours of huffing from 100 foreign residents and business representatives. The meeting was linked to a campaign launched by the Korean government and Seoul Metropolitan Government to attract more foreign investors.

Audience members were sharply critical of the poor quality of language training provided by native-speaking English teachers recruited by hagwons.

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/200312/05/200312050224339279900090409041.html

huffing (verb)
1. To puff; blow.
2. To make noisy, empty threats; bluster.
3. To react indignantly; take offense.
4. To inhale the fumes of a volatile chemical or substance as a means of becoming intoxicated. (slang)

huffing (adjectiev)
breathing heavily

huff (noun)
A fit of anger or annoyance
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=huffing

[kangnamdragon]

..................and what is your opinion on this? We already know Koreans don't speak English well.

[Mr. Pink]

This is already in Off Topic I believe (or job related)

[posco's trumpet]

[panthermodern]

[Real Reality]

Mr. Pink wrote,

This is already in Off Topic I believe.

Unfortunately, I saw it a few minutes ago in the Off Topic Forum.
However, should it not be in this forum? The topic is related to "living"
in Korea.

Anyway, were any of you "huffing" at the mayor this week?

[Derrek]

A city of 12 Million people in such a small area. What kind of traffic problems are they expecting to make better?

I'd say the subway here is a pretty awesome thing!

Umm... excuse me Mr. European expat... I'm sorry your Mercedes has to wait in traffic with everyone else...

[weatherman]

If you want a simple answer, yes it is the teachers fault. We teachers are a good place to lay the blame. We are an easy target here. OK, so change the teachers. That seems easy, but really isn't. If they started to hire better qualified teaches, the whole system would have to change. I ask, what qualified teacher will work 30 hours a week of classroom time? What qualified teacher will want to share an apartment with a stranger? What qualified teacher will take 2,000,000 million a month for these conditions? And these issues are his/her bag to deal with. Then it is problems that are in the Korean educational system itself. Like quantity of over quality, entertainment over instruction, looking pretty/handsome over being goofy (in their eyes) These same messures can be said to be dealt with over at most university programs too. Very few provide the ability for there teachers to be maxiumized to the extend they would benefit the university's students. I could do a lot more at my Uni, but the schoo doesn't really want me too, they want me to be in a small extremely well defined role. And it is a role I do play well, but where are the chances for growth, and advancement that would come if the system really worked they way it should? The whole ESL industry in Korea is rotten to core, and I will be a old man befofe it changes.

One a side note, japan doesn't really have any better English ability than Korea, but you never here things like this come out of Japan, or do you?

[Harpeau]

[helly]

I think a lot of that article is the writer's interpretation and opinion of the meeting. Not very objective for a non-editorial (Ok ok,yes, I know we're talking about the Joongang Daily). I've also been to some of the Town Halls and personally know many of the people involved and I have a hard time believing that they were "huffy."

However, my assumption is that the poor English comment is not focused on the kids but on the adults who are studying now and who probably studied earlier. Business English could be much improved and these are businessmen/women who want better English abilities in their own staff, the staff of the other business they need to communicate with, and in official corridors (government, tax offices, etc). Not sure if the foreign teacher take was the writers own, if it was a general comment about poor levels of English and variety of educational outlets, or if some of these businesspeople actually have low opinions of the teachers they know are teaching their staff.

That's my take on it.

[Real Reality]

Here is another quote concerning the meeting:
Seoul holds town meeting with foreigners
This year's meeting focused on a five-year plan to improve the living environment for foreigners and a program to enhance the English proficiency of Koreans in Seoul. Cities in Korea remain inferior to those in other Asian countries, including Singapore, Malaysia and Japan, according to a 2003 survey of foreigners residing in the region. In his opening remarks, Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak reaffirmed his pledge to make the city a more comfortable place to do business and live in.
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2003/12/05/200312050055.asp

[kiwiboy_nz_99]

posco's trumpet is right. The only way to test the quality of language teaching in the Hagwons would be to test the students BEFORE they enter the middle school system. Otherwise you are dealing with a student who has had five to six years of "teaching" from a teacher who is far from fluent, who directs his teaching to the passing of a multi-choice listening exam, who uses a book written by Koreans that is riddled with errors, and who does not focus on real life oral communication. Whatever progress had been achieved at the Hagwon is effectively cancelled under these conditions.

More over, I'd like to know what criteria these foreigners are using assess the level of Korean's English ability. Who are they talking to? The current Hagwon craze is about ten years old. A university graduate today is not a "Hagwon kid". Thus I think it's premature to judge the Hagwon phenominon. I beleive that despite all this talk of innefective Hagwon teachers, we will see a marked increase in English ability in uni graduates within the next ten years, when the Hagwon kids who have gone right through from the age of five enter the work force. Hagwon teaching is not rocket science. If you care for your work and do your best, you don't have to be a genius or a trained teacher to make a major difference to the kids lives. Not only do they get a very solid grounding in the basics of English, spelling, phonetics, basic sentence structure, basic vocab etc, they are also going to be the first adults in Korea who don't see foreigners as something entirely weird and removed from reality, they will see us as human beings and be much more comfortable with us in general.

I don't know if I'll be here, but when the "Hagwon kids" start taking positions of power in this country there will be some major changes for the better.

[hellofaniceguy]

I have a question. Why is it that the majority of non English speaking I meet who are from other than korea always seem to speak pretty good English? I have heard hundreds of koreas over the years comment on it such as "you can speak really good English being from China, France, Japan, India and other countries." Even students I have had from other countries have a good command of English when compared to koreans. It can't be the teachers that are bad or to blame. I have met many korean English teachers who teach English and can't hold a conversation! Read and write? That they can do. But then so can students from other countries. I mean come on, koreans studt three years of English in Middle school and three years in High school! That's six years! Pluse they attend hokwons! They should be speaking English better than native speakers with all the years they study it. What gives? I'm sure some of you have met koreans who speak pretty good English. So have I. But the overall average is very low.

[posco's trumpet]

[bjonothan]

To me it sounds like a typically Korean way to handle a problem. Blame the foreigners!!! Blame the people who are less likely to come back and bite you on the a$$. Maybe we should have a mass quitting thing....lol Show them how important we really are. After my third year here, I don't think I can handle another year in this racist country. They always have to complain about the wrongdoers. I think that most should look at themselves.....They made this joke of a country........